After winning the Super Bowl with the Patriots, defensive end Chris Long said that he wouldn’t be returning to New England for a second season.
Long cited a desire to play a more prominent role on defense than he did down the stretch for the Patriots as the reason for moving on and we now know where he’ll be vying for that kind of playing time. Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports that Long has agreed to a contract with the Eagles.
Long will likely take on a fair number of the snaps that Connor Barwin played at defensive end last season. Barwin was released earlier this offseason and wound up signing with the Rams, who once employed Long although their defensive scheme has changed and will allow Barwin to move back to outside linebacker.
Long had 35 tackles and four sacks for the Patriots in the regular season last year.